Today is Memorial Day and I don't know if it is a particularly difficult time for any of you, but it has been for me today. My father died in 2003 and we visited the cemetery today. After lunch, it seemed my anxiety sort of spiked, which lead me back to thoughts of "you know what". Why these two are so connected I don't know. I used to think that thoughts of ALS led to my anxiety, but I declare I do think that it may be the reverse. Anyway, just wondered if any of you have noticed this pattern.

I live in UK and he left my mum and I when I was a very young baby. After many years of looking, I finally put an advert in the local paper in Scotland and I got a call from a woman to say she knew where my dad was...and also that I had a half brother.

When I got home that night, I got a call from my half brother Mark and he told me that he had my dad's email address as he had only found him a few years earlier himself...

Well after much trepidation, I finally got round to sending him an email with the subject line "Hey, long time no hear!!!"

As you can imagine I had butterflies in my stomach and then when I saw a reply the next day...I was terrified...

We swapped emails for ages. This was in 2001. I went out to St Helens, Oregon where he lived in 2002 and spent 3 weeks with him. We got on like a house on fire and then in 2003 he told me he had been diagnosed with ALS. After 35 years, I got 4 years with him.

The reason I am telling you this is because I saw exactly how he went, what his symptoms were and how it affected him. From what I have read on here, none of us have this awful disease and my advice is try to convince yourself that you do not...although I have not mastered that part myself...

Strangely..I feel better now ))

"If you can read this, thank a teacher....and since it's in English, thank a soldier"

I live in UK and he left my mum and I when I was a very young baby. After many years of looking, I finally put an advert in the local paper in Scotland and I got a call from a woman to say she knew where my dad was...and also that I had a half brother.

When I got home that night, I got a call from my half brother Mark and he told me that he had my dad's email address as he had only found him a few years earlier himself...

Well after much trepidation, I finally got round to sending him an email with the subject line "Hey, long time no hear!!!"

As you can imagine I had butterflies in my stomach and then when I saw a reply the next day...I was terrified...

We swapped emails for ages. This was in 2001. I went out to St Helens, Oregon where he lived in 2002 and spent 3 weeks with him. We got on like a house on fire and then in 2003 he told me he had been diagnosed with ALS. After 35 years, I got 4 years with him.

The reason I am telling you this is because I saw exactly how he went, what his symptoms were and how it affected him. From what I have read on here, none of us have this awful disease and my advice is try to convince yourself that you do not...although I have not mastered that part myself...

Strangely..I feel better now ))

"If you can read this, thank a teacher....and since it's in English, thank a soldier"